House of WB Yeats’s birth stages harp recital to mark first full moon of 2015

The house in Dublin where the poet WB Yeats was born was opened to the public last night for a harp recital to coincide with the first full moon of 2015.

The house, on Sandymount Avenue, close to the RDS, is the home of Welsh man Alan Tilley, who bought it in 1977.

Though Yeats only lived in it for the first two and a half years of his life, literary visitors regularly come by, politely seeking out the house where Yeats was born 150 years ago.

“I get at least one visitor a week. It could be two to three people a week. It depends. I particularly enjoy the Americans who come here because I get the intellectual American – they are an interesting group of people,” Tilley said.

The house has a lot of Yeats memorabilia, including the poet’s pen and his brother Jack’s inkwell.

Harp recitals

As part of the Yeats 150 celebrations this year, there will be a harp recital at a different venue at each full moon. There will be 13 recitals, with two in July to coincide with the “blue moon” – two full moons in the same month. Last night’s recital was given by Ruth O’Hara.

The events will take place in locations mentioned in the poet's work or connected to his life in some way. They will include Kiltartan, Coole Park, Renvyle House, and Thoor Ballylee in Co Galway; Slish Wood overlooking Innisfree, Lissadell, and Drumcliffe in Co Sligo; the Hugh Lane Gallery and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin; and the Rock of Cashel in Co Tipperary.

The highlight of the year will be Yeats Day on June 13th, which will be 150 years to the day since the poet’s birth in 1865. It will be marked by a four-day celebration in Ireland and abroad.